Dreams of Darkness
by Treacle Parcheesi
Summary: As they settle into married life, Nergal decides to reveal to Sis the story of how he grew up and how he came to be banished from the Underworld. In the meantime, the powers that be threaten their future ... a future Sis is keeping a secret for now.


Yes, I am writing again … tentatively. I've wanted to write a Billy & Mandy for years, so I'm giving it a shot. I always felt that Nergal sort of faded out of the show after his third appearance, which was a shame, because he's very original in design and character and a nice foil to Grim. Then again, there were many great characters that appeared even less. And he does deserve to be happy, don't you think. Well, while this story won't be as long as some of my other fics, it's nice to have a pet project when you're working on something big. Oh dear, just an author's note and I've already said too much. Well, enjoy the story, dears ^^ Preferably with a cup of tea and a freshly baked muffin or two.

* * *

There was a path of abandonment from the tunnel cruiser to the makeshift bridal suite. The nergalings had been meaning to clean it up but had abandoned the chore in favor of kicking an empty Champale bottle between themselves and were now gathering curiously around the crack in their master's bedroom door.

The bride sat with her knees drawn up under her chin and watched her darling as he sighed contentedly in his sleep. Hearing his voice, even if it was only a sigh, made her heart and stomach flutter. How she longed to peck him on the cheek! But not wanting to disturb him, she sat very quietly and enjoyed the scenery.

Eventually, Nergal opened his eyes and smiled expectantly up at her. "Okay, now it's my turn to watch _you_ sleep."

"Okay," Sis replied and took his place. As she eased into the toasty groove he had made for her and breathed in his signature scent of clay and sulphur, he took her hand. The warm twitchiness of his voice worked like a charm – a sleeping charm. And that's how Nergal and Sis spent their first day of wedded bliss. Even in their twilight years it would remain their favorite game. But we're getting way ahead of ourselves here.

"Nergal, dear?" Sis asked the next morning as she lifted her head off her husband's chest.

Nergal awoke with a loud snore. "Yes, angel pie?"

"As much as I love lying here next to you and hearing your heart murmuring obscenities, my neck is cramping up." At that, Sis' neck made a loud crack indeed. "Also, I'm getting hungry."

Nergal threw the covers aside and reached for his bathrobe. "Oh, we can't have that." He helped Sis on her feet. "Let me show you around."

He gave her a tour of his realm. The sights included the tile desert, the lava dome, the stalactite caves, the kitchen, and of course the eternal plains of despair. Sis turned around several times to take it all in.

"This place is amazing!" she exclaimed. "And terrifying. Honey, why did you move here?"

Nergal hadn't really told Sis all that much about his life yet. But as he loaded two Eggos into the toaster he figured that now was a good a time as any to begin.

"Well … as a young man I committed a bit of foolishness after which the Underworld court decided it'd be best if I set up shop here for an eternity or two."

Sis handed him a cup of coffee. "What kind of 'foolishness'?" She saw him hesitate and added "You can tell me."

"I wish I could," Nergal painfully replied. "But to be a total liar I don't really remember that much."

They sat down to enjoy their toaster waffles. "Gee, just thinking about you all alone here for all those thousands of years is just heartbreaking." Sis patted his hand.

One of Nergal's tentacles popped up at this, just in case someone's heart needed a starter. "Not now," he mumbled at it and tucked it back in place. "Oh, dearest, it wasn't all that bad. This place is nice and warm. I would nap for centuries at a time, with sensible meals and snacks in-between, of course. I had my toys and crayons and oh! Old Mr. Bonkers here."

His foot had happened upon something soft under the table, and he bent over to pick up a ratty old teddy bear with a heart-shaped patch where he had disemboweled it as a toddler.

"Whenever things got too quiet, I would sing my little song to remind the world that I still existed. That's why Endsville is surrounded by such a beautiful mountain range. Also, it kept my vocal cords nice and sharp for all these thousands of years. See?"

He opened his mouth wide to reveal vocal cords as sharp as tacks. Sis was very impressed – they looked like little chainsaws.

"I would love to hear that song some time," she said plaintively.

"I bet you would," Nergal replied and bit into his Eggo. "But enough about me. I think you were about to tell me about yourself over the salad course the other night?"

Sis shrugged. "There's not much to tell. I went to trade school and got a degree in shorthand. I inherited our grandmother's house, invested my savings wisely and got a job transcribing frivolous Freckleburger lawsuits." She then got a sudden, sheepish feeling. "I also eat healthy, exercise daily and have a steady paycheck."

"How horrible!" Nergal exclaimed and embraced her tenderly. "But fear no more, my darling," he comforted. "You are here with me now."

After breakfast he showed her to the tile desert. "This is where I spend most of my time," he said. "It's also where the TV is. Coincidence? I think not."

Sis was about to ask him to find the Weather Channel when her foot was suddenly caught in a crack, causing her to lose her balance. Nergal helped her to her feet and quickly found the culprit; the empty Champale bottle, now wedged between two tiles.

"Oh, those Nergalings," he groaned and then shook his fist at the curious little shadow beings spying at them between the stalagmites. "I told you to clear away the mess, not sweep it under the rug!"

"You know, honey," Sis said as she rubbed her ankle. "Now that there are two of us, maybe making this place more into a home wouldn't hurt. At least not as bad as a twisted ankle."

Nergal stood there quietly for a moment, clearly immersed in thought. Then his gaze fell on the ankle she was cradling. Without saying a word, he gently wrapped it up in a tentacle. And before Sis could protest – while she loved Nergal very much, even he could see now why people took issue with the whole tentacle thing – he applied a very mild current for a few seconds before letting go.

"How's that?" he asked and hoped very much that she wouldn't box his ears or something. He hated that.

"It's … all good," Sis said surprised. The shocks had never travelled past her calf and felt more like when you drop the garden hose and water your socks.

Nergal helped her sit on a small platform that out of nowhere rose from the ground. "Well, I used to run track in school, so I've seen a lot of this stuff. That and jock itch, but that's best discussed over dinner. Also, it's a terrific idea. We could put a bookcase here …"

He zoomed over to the southernmost point of the area, "… and a couch here, and a soda fountain there …" he teleported over to the other side. "And, oh! We could find a better place for all this junk."

He turned around holding a dented and stained cardboard box aptly tagged NERGAL'S JUNK and handed it to Sis. "Help me sort this, will you?"

Sis peeled off the box tape and pulled out a musty old yearbook. "What is all this stuff?"

Nergal cleared his throat. "Why, things I meant to display once I got shelves up. The time just flew by, didn't it?"

As she rummaged through the contents of the box turned time capsule, Sis also found a report card, a retainer with cobwebs on it and a picture frame with its glass broken. She gently blew on it to remove the dust. It was a picture of a young shadow being with braces and – Sis' heart swelled at the sight of them – a dusting of green freckles. He stood in front of a blackboard and smiled awkwardly at her.

"Who is this?" she asked and handed him the frame.

"Danged if I know," Nergal said with a cough and tucked the picture into another box without looking at it. "We're gonna need trash bags."

"Wait a minute!" Sis admonished and retrieved the photo. "This is you?" She sat back down with it. "Oh, my, aren't you the cutest little thing!"

Nergal rolled his eyes and nodded, but Sis couldn't tear her eyes away. Yes, the thirteen-year-old Nergal was gangly and he looked like a kicked puppy, but there was something about him that made her feel both incredibly sad and happy at the same time. She did however see that all this made the present-day Nergal uncomfortable.

"If you ever do wanna talk about it, though," she said and put the picture glass-side down into her lap. "You know you can say anything in front of me."

Nergal's backside was met halfway by another platform with perfect timing. "Well … alright." He then took a deep breath.

* * *

"Ow!"

The young demon-spawn had kept his cool in the waiting room, but getting one's braces tightened tends to help one in overcoming the fear of an embarrassing voice crack.

"Just one more time, Mr. Nergal," the school nurse, Nurse A. Grudge, said as she waited for him to stop fidgeting. She was a middle-aged, portly woman who looked perfectly human except for a pair of small bat wings. Nergal watched her with dread as she closed in with the dental pliers.

This time his eyes teared up. "Oww!"

"It's alright," she comforted. "We're almost done."

And eventually, she did finish tightening the wires and adjusting the brackets. Afterwards, she helped the wretched Nergal gargle with saltwater.

"I hate this," he sulked. "It gets worse every time!"

Nurse Grudge helped him sit on a bed in the quiet area and gave him an ice pack. "Don't be like that," she tutted. "The first time you were here you passed out. You'll be rid of them in a year, tops."

Nergal sighed and slouched his tiny shoulders. "Yeah, that's what you said last year."

"Rest here for a bit. The painkillers should kick in just before lunch." Nurse Grudge patted his arm. "Remember, n …"

"… '_Nothing hot, and nothing solid'_," Nergal finished, having heard this since the first ever Tuesday. The nurse nodded and went to see the next patient.

"And don't forget the rubber bands," she finished.

Nergal sulked some more and wished that _she_ would forget the rubber bands someday. He hated everything about his braces, from having to floss three times a day to sleeping on his back all the way till how dorky he looked. As if feeling like a dork every day wasn't enough. A tentacle took over the ice pack so he could pull his knees up to his chin and hold around them.

The pain medicine Nurse Grudge gave him usually took care of the worst, but his gums were still tender and throbbing. The school cafeteria was packed and the cacophony of other kids talking, laughing and dropping forks made the throbbing even worse. Not to mention the noise level from the kitchen. Nergal grabbed a tray at the end of the counter. When his turn came, he had the choice between banana slug smoothie and box jelly cubes. The smell of hot navy spleen made his stomach rumble, but the smoothie wasn't that bad either. He put his food down at the only table with available seats and soon found himself in the company of a boy with green skin and a spiked helmet that covered his eyes and a girl with a yellow snake tail and a ton of makeup.

"Look, Crabina," he said with an admiring sigh and nodded towards the opposite table. "There's Grim. Is it just me, or does he look extra creepy today?"

Crabina shook her head. "Oh, I could do great things with him for my fashion column" She closed her eyes for a minute. "Hmm … he would need a good color scheme. Black, maybe."

"But black goes with everything," Pain insisted. "Where do you go from there?"

At that moment, Nergal's straw decided to find a bubble in the drink and made a loud slurping noise that got the others' attention.

Crabina glared at him. "What's your point, Jaws?"

"Nothing," Nergal mumbled and hoped she couldn't see that darn blushing.

She didn't back down. "No, you definitely said something. Something about fashion being for suckers, I'll bet." She then grabbed the tentacle stirring his smoothie. "And you would know all about _suckers_, right? Gross! Extra arms are _so_ last year."

Nergal hoped that the laughter coming from the neighboring table wasn't at his expense and withdrew the tentacle. Maybe he should have shocked her as her just desserts. Nah. He was tired enough as it was – using his powers took a lot of energy as he was still just a juvenile - also, she had already left her seat to chat with some friends.

"Don't mind her," Pain said. "She's just edgy right now because someone sent an unsigned letter to the school paper saying that the fashion column is a waste of space." He paused to scrutinize him. "Did you send it?"

Nergal glared defensively at him. "What? No! Why would you say that?"

"You're Nergal, right? You do the sports section."

"Yeah, but not all of it. I try to interview the football team, but they just call me a freak and launch their jockstraps at me."

"Their loss." Pain shrugged.

"Also, I didn't even know that there even _was _a fashion column."

"What?" Pain looked incredulous. "Don't you even read the paper?"

"Do _you_?"

"Yeah, but not the fashion column."

After that there was not much else to do but laugh, so they did. When the bell rang, Pain fished out the class schedule. "What's next?"

"Well, I'm going to the track," Nergal said and grabbed the gear from his locker. "Then I have to finish up my expose on the school's medicine balls. It was nice meeting you."

"The track, huh?" Pain looked despondent. "Must be nice, liking gym. I'm _this _close to flunking."

Nergal looked up from his own schedule. "Gee, Pain, if you need a leg-up you could come with me. I can help you pass."

That sounded like a dream come true – it's not every day that an even bigger nerd than yourself who would never judge you offers their help.

"Yeah, but I have Screamish now. I won't get out until two."

"That's okay," Nergal reassured him. "I can always work on my article in the library later."

Pain shrugged again. "Oh, you don't have to do that for me …"

"Hey," Nergal interrupted. "Agreeing to help your fellow students is basically helping the school stay accredited. So, you're actually doing me a favor. Meet me at the track at two p.m. sharp."

"Okay." Pain's day was looking up, and now, so was he.


End file.
